Photo of the Day

Beauty

This portrait by an unattributed studio shows a Miss Wallace, according to the information inscribed on the glass plate negative, (see detail below). The negative is also marked ‘Beauty Comp’ indicating that Miss Wallace, (or her photograph) may have been entered in a beauty contest. In the late 19th and early 20th century beauty competitions often took the form of slide show presentations in theatres as part of a variety of entertainments. Audiences clapped and cheered, (or not) as a way of rating the entrants’ images.

About Photo of the Day

The Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the Day blog features a new image each day, chosen from the Powerhouse Photo Library.

The majority of these images have been taken by Museum photographers for a variety of purposes such as for exhibitions, of objects in our collection, events, behind-the-scenes and location shots. We also feature many images taken by our Flickr community and from our visitors. We hope you enjoy the photographs and stories.